Can you say "Deliverance" boys and girls? He looks like he ate nothing but hillbillies the whole trip.

Despite his odd appearance at the end, he seems to have had an epiphany of sorts as to what brings him fulfillment, so good for him. I think most of us on this board immerse ourselves in the wilderness on a consistent basis so it's easy to understand why he would make that kind of discovery about himself.

BTW I came across a PCT through hiker once over at Whitewater. He had done the AT, which he referred to as the "Green Tunnel". He said he had gotten kind of bored because you essentially have no views for pretty much the whole way, it's just a path through an unending forest. The Appalachians are a very old, smoothly rolling mountain range with almost no high points, hence the tunnel feeling. He told me he already much preferred the PCT having just gone from the Mexican border up through the San Jacintos heading north. I told him he had some amazing views coming. I wonder if most people who do both have a similar experience?

I'm not sure about stories of 'I must leave ordinary life and turn to nature.' I once read one about the opposite transformation. The author had been a guide in Alaska. One summer he had a group of clients who were professors from a medical school. Every night they had a bitch session around the campfire about their jobs, institution, colleagues, administrators, journal reviewers, etc. But after a while he realized they were very much into their work and enjoyed it. It inspired him to go back to college and pursue a more conventional career.